If the title Akeelah
and the Bee conjures up images of
a fairy tale or fable, you aren’t far off mark, but this bee
doesn’t fly. Akeelah (Keke Palmer) is an intelligent
11-year-old who struggles through life in South Los Angeles. Her
world is idealized, and her greatest peril is a
cliché-ridden screenplay. Akeelah’s one claim to fame
is her uncanny ability to spell. Encouraged by her teacher and
principal, she enters the school spelling bee and wins an easy
victory. She is challenged on the spot by Dr. Joshua Larabee
(Laurence Fishburne), a stern English professor, but this dramatic
moment is undercut by a badly staged humiliation. Larabee agrees to
become her coach to prepare her for the Scripps Howard National
Spelling Bee, in Washington, D.C. Akeelah’s journey is fraught with
contrived conflicts, some of which defy the laws of logic. Her
terminally cranky mother (Angela Bassett) doesn’t want
Akeelah to participate in the spelling bee for fear that it will
interfere with her schoolwork. Isn’t English a part of the
school curriculum, and wouldn’t excelling in its study be a
boost to her education? Lest we forget, we are occasionally reminded of Akeelah’s crime-ridden
environment by the sound of helicopters in the night sky.
Akeelah’s troubled brother is supposedly heading down the wrong
path, but his worst crime is dressing very badly. When one of his
gangsta thug buddies shows up, the conversation turns to poetry. Are
they serious? The mentoring begins with the obligatory
shaky start, but soon Akeelah and the professor are perfectly in
tune. The training features not one, not two, but three separate
musical interludes. Just one would have qualified as a
cliché; three may be something of an innovation. Larabee
also harbors some deep, dark family secret that leads to a split.
Its eventual revelation proves predictable and unessential. Akeelah
sails through every local and regional competition leading up to
the main event. Director/writer Doug Atchison reserves his grandest
misfire for the climax by substituting inspirational histrionics
for logic and reality. He even changes factual details by expanding
the broadcast by ESPN to cover the entire event rather than just
the final showdown beginning with Round 5. Atchison squanders the
potential drama of the contestants striving to hold out long enough
to appear on TV. He would rather resort to more cheerleading scenes
of the folks back home. Watch the suspenseful, and far superior,
documentary Spellbound for contrast. The one saving grace is Palmer, who carries
the weight of the entire movie on her young relatively
inexperienced shoulders. What she lacks in raw skills, she more
than makes up for it in charm and charisma. Even a bad movie can
feature a starmaking performance. Bassett and Fishburne turn in
their usual good performances, but it is Palmer’s show all
the way. I honestly appreciate any attempt to champion intellect
over brawn, and for this reason I would give Akeelah a mild
recommendation for families. The great irony is movies about
intelligence are rarely written with intelligence. This reviewer
was aided by spell-check.
Also in theaters this week. . .
American Dreamz [PG-13]
A feisty Midwestern girl and a show-tune-singing Orange County guy
face each other in a talent show championship. When the president
of the United States wants in on the action, things get ugly. ShowPlace East
Friends with Money [R] A slice of life film about four friends. One is poor
and single, the other three try and come to her rescue. Directed by
Nicole Holofcener. ShowPlace West
Ice Age: The Meltdown [PG] The Ice Age is officially over and Diego, Manny and
Sid must alert the others before the ice melts and the valley is
destroyed. ShowPlace West,
ShowPlace East, Route 66 Drive-In
Inside Man [R]
Hostage negotiator Keith Frazier finds himself in a match of wits
with a bank robber, but quickly realizes the heist isn’t
exactly what it seems to be. Directed by Spike Lee. ShowPlace West
Lucky Number Slevin [R] Slevin gets caught in Mafia crossfire when two
dangerous crime bosses, the Boss and the Rabbi, mistake his
identity. Lucky he is not. White
Oaks
R.V. [PG] The
Munro family try their luck at an old-fashioned family camping trip
to the Rockies, but a group of cracked campers beat them to the
punch. ShowPlace West, ShowPlace
East
The Sentinel [PG-13] Special Agent Pete
Garrison is determined to nail a traitor before the president of
the United States gets hit. ShowPlace
West, ShowPlace East
Silent Hill [R] On
a road trip to help save her ailing daughter, Rose Da Silva stops
in Silent Hill, a desolate town with an evil presence. Rose’s
daughter goes missing, but in Silent Hill things aren’t
always as they seem. ShowPlace West,
ShowPlace East
Stick It [PG-13]
Rebellious Haley leaves her life of trouble after a clash with the
police to return to a prim and polished existence as a top gymnast
with the celebrated coach, Burt Vickerman (Jeff Bridges). ShowPlace West, ShowPlace East
Take the Lead [PG-13]
Ballroom dancer Pierre Dulane takes on a bunch of New York City
school kids, and when the footwork of ballroom and hip-hop collide,
a new style is born. ShowPlace West
United 93 [R] The
story of the men and women on the fourth hijacked plane, United 93,
that didn’t reach its target on 9/11. ShowPlace West
The Wild [G] A
young lion departs from New York Zoo for the vast lands of Africa
leaving behind a few friends who are determined to get him back. ShowPlace West
This article appears in Apr 27 – May 3, 2006.
